Holistic Spawn
The Holistic Spawn are abominations often described as "twisted mockeries of dwarvenkind". They are in essence what happens when a dwarf is infected by the spirit of Holistic Detective and inhabited by a demon intelligence. They are the primary antagonists of Spearbreakers. The Origin of the Spawn The origin of the Spawn stems all the way back to the fortress of Boatmurdered. One of its late rulers, Sankis, went mad under the influence of demons. While on fire, he slaughtered many rampaging elephants, his own kin, and even babies before succumbing to the flames. Afterwards he was said to become a demonic overlord of the darker, viler denizens of Everoc. A second fortress was founded to keep these evils at bay, Headshoots. It held them back for the longest time, becoming a mighty bastion, a testament to all dwarves were capable of. Its strongest warriors were Nemo and Holistic Detective, the latter of which was so sure of her invulnerability that she wielded a rat leather backpack instead of a weapon. Unfortunately, one day deep below the fortress, a foul presence filled the air as the two champions talked, and they were possessed by Sankis' spirit. Overcome, they massacred everyone in Headshoots until all that were left were each other. Nemo managed to slice off two of Holistic's hands and carve a gash down her chest, while Holistic took him by the throat with her teeth and shook him until he died. Left alone, Sankis claimed Holistic as her champion and created Holistic's Spawn. The dangers of Holistic's Spawn were not realized until another fortress emerged, Syrupleaf. Syrupleaf was set in the far south of Everoc, nearest to the place the Holistic Spawn originated. They fought bravely, even as the rest of the planet was quickly overrun. Although Armok favored them, eventually Syrupleaf fell. Dissatisfied with what he had created, and deeming it ruined beyond repair, Armok destroyed the universe, burning it with magma and cooling it into a gigantic block of obsidian. This would have been the end of Everoc and the Holistic Spawn, and Spearbreakers would never have existed. However, Parasol had been watching the situation unfold with interest. Utilizing their advanced technology, they went back in time until just before Syrupleaf fell and trapped it in permanent stasis, causing the hapless dwarves to relive their final moments in repetition for all eternity. While this might be seen as a curse to some, Armok was appeased and allowed the universe to continue, although he wiped the Spawn from existence - but not quickly enough. Ballpoint had arrived, curious about the time distortions Parasol had created, and had captured a number of the Holistic Spawn to experiment on. Several years later, a modified version was re-released onto the planet as a test of worth. The Original Spawn The original Holistic Spawn were far different from the ones Spearbreakers faces. There are multiple descriptions of these monsters, but the best known is from the ancient historian, Shadowlyger. The original Spawn had a heart of magma, rather than a heart of obsidian, and had claws composed of magma as well. Their ribs were composed primarily of adamantine, as were the teeth of their chestmaw. In addition, the skull was completely devoid of flesh. The Turning of a Dwarf A Holistic Spawn is originally a dwarf. When a dwarf is bitten by the Spawn's mouth (not chest-mouth), he/she becomes infected with a young demonic soul. As the soul matures, the dwarf begins to feel feverish, though he may feel fine otherwise, and may not deem it worth noting to his or her superiors. It isn't completely apparent that the dwarf is doomed until they actually begin to turn. As a dwarf turns, they are set ablaze with hellfire, which shrivels and chars their skin. Their mouth widens, their jaw unhinges, and their hair often shrivels to next to nothing. At the same time, the dwarf's arms and legs stretch to unnatural lengths, the fingers quickly replaced by a set of long, sharp claws. Moreover, the unlucky dwarf's chest splits down the middle between the ribcage, growing multitudes of sharp teeth and becoming a mouth of sorts. The dwarf's heart turns first to magma, and then hardens into obsidian. Supposedly, destroying it is the only way to kill a Holistic Spawn, but it has been found that bisection and decapitation work as well. Accounts of dwarf turnings Category:Creatures Category:Groups